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As those of you who have been with us from the beginning are well aware, Alive in Baghdad was started in the summer of 2004, with the intention of providing a space for the voices and images of Iraqis.

On my first trip to the Middle East, I travelled to Jordan and Baghdad, to prove that it was feasible and possible for a videoblogger to travel to a warzone, without the kind of security and funding backing people like Kevin Sites, of the “Kevin Sites: In the Hotzone” Yahoo! blog.

During this trip myself and the Alive in Baghdad team, based in the United States, proved that we could interview Iraqis all over the city of Baghdad, all from a base outside the Green Zone.

I just returned from my second trip, and the second phase of Alive in Baghdad, on July 4th. In our second phase we transported five cameras, microphones, tape, and other necessities to correspondents in the Middle East. By providing this equipment we have established two permanent correspondents, and have one more now in his trial phase.

Together we have begun producing videos about life in Iraq, such as episode 3, which we consider one of our favorites:

As we move forward into our third stage, we aim to become a sustainable source of regular video from Iraq, and will begin uploading a weekly major episode, while providing additional vignettes where possible.

In September I will be returning to the Middle East, and most likely re-entering Baghdad, in order to expand our operations, bring new equipment to our correspondents, and continuing their training.

In order to make this possible, we are launching a major funding drive, as the cost of keeping correspondents in Baghdad is not cheap! Please consider helping us continue our work. We are currently accepting donations via paypal through the Urbana Champaign Independent Media Center, which you can make via the Donate link.

If you are interested to help out or get involved in other ways, we still need help coding, as well as equipment for our correspondents and to expand the project. Please email me at aliveinbaghdad at gmail.com or respond via the contact form in our Contact section above with any questions, comments, suggestions, or offers of support.

The “Newsmericks” blog has two limericks posted in regards to our recently released correspondent. I wanted to post them here so everyone can appreciate their words of support as I do.

Limerick One:

In Baghdad, videography can earn
You a kidnapping, (that’s what we learn)
A blogger abducted
(By Guards unobstructed)
Let’s all speak out for his safe return!

Limerick Two:
(a comment from padmaja iyengar)

This is what happens in a rogue state,
Which cannot freedom in any form tolerate.
This is the height of intolerance,
of perversion and of violence.
Let’s pray for the safe return of the blogmate.

Again thanks to everyone for your support, Omar will be interviewing Marwan about the incident sometime today, and we will blog more about it as soon as possible. We also hope to have photos and video from the interview soon, with Marwan’s consent.

[Editor’s note: Shadi Al-Kasim has worked with Alive in Baghdad in the past, and may begin filing stories regarding the Middle East from elsewhere in Baghdad. His first dispatch of this new format is from Lebanon, and was initially filed on July 26th]

I left Amman at 7pm on Tuesday 18/7/2006 heading for Beirut. The car moved to Damascus. Upon arrival to Damascus, I headed for the bus station and took the first bus traveling to Hems where I departed to the Syrian Lebanese borders (Al Arida). I reached there at 5:30am on Wednesday 19/7/2006. the borders were very quiet from Syria to Lebanon. In fact only me and three others were leaving to Lebanon, where as the escapees from the hell of strikes were hundreds of different nationalities. We crossed the border into Lebanon heading for Beirut during which I witnessed the trail of ruins by the Israeli raids which covered the whole area. A few minutes prior to arrival to Tripoli, I saw a large Lebanese military base which incurred massive raids by Israel and was leveled to the ground. I reached Beirut at 11am. Soon after arrival, Al Ashrafiah was subject to Israeli strikes. I proceed to the hotel in Al Hamra area, where occupation reached 100% and the guests were all refugees from the south of Lebanon, escaping the hell of strikes and damage.

In the evening, Beirut witnessed a violent strike. On Thursday 20/7/2006, I made some interviews with several refugees. First I met Mrs. Betol Fawaz, aged 32 and married with two children; one was a girl 9 years old and a six-year-old boy. I asked here where did you come from?

She said: from Al Juwayah, from the south.

She added: the situation is very complicated over there; lots of misery; people are dying; they are killing the children in cold blood; I don’t know what to say??? What is happening to us a is great injustice. My mother-in-law is paralyzed, but we cannot move here to Beirut. She will die. The Jews are striking everything. There is no electricity, no water, and no life at all. Finally, mother-in-law decided to stay and die over there.

What are they doing?? They are killing the innocent. It is unfair. Condoleezza Rice said that Hezbollah is a terrorist group. Let her come here and see how many innocent people were killed.

Betol couldn’t continue here words. She grasped here children and started to cry.

I made another interview with another refugee who left the south. He was Mohammad Al Dib, aged 19. He comes from Qana from the Lebanese south. Qana is a well-know town which was site for an Israeli massacre in 1990s.

He said: we were sitting at home when a violent strike started suddenly leaving a massive damage in my hometown. Lots of people died. Bodies were everywhere. Bombs couldn’t differentiate between a child and an elderly. It was a terrifying and ugly scene. I wish to address the Arab: you say you are Arab? You see your brothers massacred and killed while you are only watching. Is this Arabism and brotherhood?

Israelis say they are targeting the Party and its capabilities. They are lying. They are killing families and children. They are destroying the infrastructure totally. No one is stopping them.

They watch American violence and cowboy films and then they simulate that on us. My neighbor lost her legs by the strikes. What sort of life she will lead after losing here entire legs??? We will not lean to Israel and will die defending our homeland.

Plenty of displaced families and innocent children who do not understand why they are being killed??? You can see sadness and horror filling those innocent eyes.

At 9:15pm same day, the Southern Suburb was subject to extremely fierce strikes that the hotel walls, where I reside, were shaken and the windows shattered.

At 4:15pm on Thursday 21/7/2006 I headed, with the taxi driver to the Southern Suburb of Beirut. The streets were empty as if it was a city of ghosts. Trails of ruins and strikes were everywhere. You can see nothing but inspection points controlled by Hezbollah.

No one can have access to the Southern Suburb without permit by them. Otherwise he/she will be immediately arrested, as was the case with two British journalists along with their Lebanese interpreters. It was 5pm, Wednesday 20/7/2006 when they tried to enter and shoot without permission by Hezbollah forces. They were charged with espionage and now nobody knows anything about their destiny.

Hezbollah fighters asked me and the taxi driver to stay in the car until the officer in charge come. After 15 minutes, they came back and asked us to leave right away and come back at 11am. They told us that they receive journalists at 11am only. We left on the sport escaping the arrest.

We left for the area of the event Beirut which is next to the Southern Suburb, where the Israeli fighters raided a truck station and destroyed the whole trucks. Three drivers were killed. The scene of devastation was terrible. We got off the car and shot some pictures then headed for Ba’abda region, where the Israeli fighters stroke the main bridge at 1am the same day. It is well-know that the presidential palace is located in that area. The destruction scene was horrible. The bridge was struck with two 20-ton bombs, resulting in a giant damage and divided it into two. Lots of Christian Lebanese residents were watching the damaged bridge with astonishment.

I asked on of them: what’s your name?

He answered: Murad Antonius. I’m 40 years old and I live in Ba’abda. I’m very sad and angry at what’s going on. But I cannot blame Israel. We started, or Hezbollah to be correct. This is crazy. You cannot attack who’s several times stronger than you. We used to have many detainees in Israel, but now 3 millions of us are detainees. This is not fair.

I met many Lebanese Christians, Sunnis and Druze. All of them are indignant with Hezbollah and Israel. One of them told me: Lebanon is a state within a state. It is unbelievable.

The infrastructure was destroyed and Lebanon is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster. Medical and food supplies are running out. Lebanon nowadays is nothing but destruction, damage, strikes, and smell of death.

On the way back to Amman, near Zahla. Two civilian buses coming from the other side were struck, only 500 meters away from us, killing the entire passengers on the spot. The scene was terrible and repulsive.

Not those, until now, third of the total number of victims of the Israeli strikes are children.

[Editor’s note: Please consider making a donation earmarked for “Alive in Baghdad, correspondent Shadi Al-Kasim.” Because Shadi’s work is not currently focused on Iraq, we do not have the funds to pay him at this time. We are grateful to him for working with us and providing this important and timely work without pay. If you appreciate his work as I do, please make a small contribution to help his work, and that of Alive in Baghdad continue. Lastly, photos from Lebanon will be posted soon.]

It is with deep regret that I type some of the words I hoped would never come.

It is foolish to have thought we might somehow be safe from the violence and chaos of Baghdad’s streets. However, I somehow believed we had a kind of special defense or protection against the ordinary violence of Baghdad in 2006.

On Sunday morning, between 11am and 12pm, one of our newest correspondents disappeared from the al-Amal Neighborhood. He was there with his brother, gathering B-roll of the security in place around Baghdad’s gas stations, as well as the long refueling lines that continue to insult the residents of one of the world’s most oil-rich countries.

At the request of his family, we can only reveal certain information at this time. We hope their perspective will change soon, because we believe that, in this case, publicity is one of our most important tools to ensure our colleague’s safe return.

Before he began filming our correspondent confirmed permission with the Iraqi National Guard in the area who were maintaining security around the station. After they agreed to allow him to film, he took some footage of the National Guard’s security position and then moved on to shoot nearby the gas station.

While his brother waited in their car across the street, he approached the station and began gathering footage. This correspondent was hired primarily to gather footage around the city of Baghdad to provide our viewers insight into the day-to-day life on Baghdad’s streets.

Within ten to fifteen minutes of his approaching the gas station, gathering photos and video of the pumps, the long lines, etc. a civilian vehicle approached. Several men left this vehicle, they were not uniformed, but carried pistols, what appeared to be “police handcuffs” according to his brother, and other guns.

The correspondent was grabbed, blindfolded, and placed in the vehicle which then left the scene.

During this entire time, the Iraqi National Guard were nearby, within sight, and did nothing.

It is unclear who kidnapped him, but it is believed to be one of the militias that is connected to the current Iraqi government. The inaction of the Iraqi National Guard suggests it was either a militia or plain-clothed unit operating in the area.

It has now been over 48 hours since our colleague went missing. We are calling on press freedom outlets as well as other bloggers, vloggers, journalists, and governments to take a stance against this.

Alive in Baghdad has endeavored to be a non-partisan source of news about life in Iraq with Iraqis themselves producing content and telling stories about their lives.

If you have information or wish to offer support in the safe return of our colleague, please send an email to aliveinbaghdad at gmail.com.

Brian was interviewed recently in New York by vlogger Randolfe Wicker. In this video Brian is asked about how he sees the Iraqi situation and the general sentiment from the people of Iraq as well as the differences between the roles of major media organi

I recently attended a Blues concert in Amman, with my Iraqi friends Uday, Muhanid, and Ali.

Afterwards I went out for a couple drinks with Uday. He seemed a bit despondent while we were out. When I asked him what was up, he explained that things like this concert weren’t so rare in Baghdad just 6 or 7 years ago, and before 10 or 15 years, were really common.

I hope by posting a small clip of a concert in Amman featuring a Spanish Blues band I can help to better describe the nuanced reality of life in the Middle East.

When we talk about the situation in Iraq, we need to be clear that not only have they lost stability and security and descended into sectarianism and in-fighting, they’ve also lost their access to a wide array of cultural heritage, from as near as the Tigris and Furat to as far away as Japanese Butu dancing and American metal bands.

Please visit http://aliveinbaghdad.org for more information about Iraq, and consider making a donation to support our work, we are totally funded by donations, so if you want our work to continue, be generous!

Last month the United Nations released a report that more than 150,000 Iraqis have been displaced since February.

Iraqis who do not have a passport head for the Mansur Passport Office in Baghdad. Most spend the night there to be in with a chance.

“I had to spend the night in here just to make sure I’ll be listed as one of the first 50 who arrived here,” Um Ali, a 40-year-old mother of four told IPS. “If they don’t list my name in the first 50, I will lose my chance to get a passport, and I’ll be forced to wait until I have a second chance.”

Um Ali explained the system; no one at the passport office would.

“Each neighbourhood in Baghdad has one day in the month for it. For example, Mansur has the tenth and al-Khadra is on the ninth and it goes on like this for six months, and if someone loses his turn, he will be forced to wait another six months.”

[Editor’s note: Please click “read more” under the title line, to view the full post]